The usage of apparatuses that use electricity is recently increasing in a real life. One of them is an electric range.
Electric ranges are cooking apparatuses that cook food using an electric heater or an additional heating element as a heat source. Electric ranges are classified into induction heaters using induction heating and radiant heaters using electrical resistance according to a heating method.
In the induction heater, a high frequency voltage having a predetermined magnitude is applied to a working coil as power is applied to the induction heater, such that a magnetic field is generated in the vicinity of the working coil. A magnetic force line of an induction magnetic field generated in this case causes an eddy current to be generated in a heating element, and the heating element is heated by the eddy current so that cooking can be performed.
Also, in the radiant heater, predetermined power is applied to a heating coil in a heating element, and high radiant heat is dissipated due to heating of the heating coil so that cooking can be performed.
Commonly, the electric range has a plurality of heating elements, wherein different outputs can be set to each of the plurality of heating elements. So, user can select heating elements suitable for kind, amount and usage of food.
Meanwhile, the heating element of the electric range has relatively high power consumption compared to other home appliances. When a plurality of heating elements are simultaneously used, power supplied to the electric range may be over a limit. In order to solve the problem, a method of dispersedly controlling the heating element of the electric range is used, whereby power supplied to at least one of the plurality of heating elements is blocked or power is alternately supplied to each of the heating elements for a predetermined amount of time so that power cannot be over the limit.
However, when the plurality of heating elements are simultaneously used, if power supplied to at least one of the heating elements is blocked or each of the heating elements is alternately controlled so that power of supply cannot be over the limit, heat that has been already heated is cooled again during a blocked time and thus, a heat loss occurs, and a time at which cooking is performed using the heating element, becomes long.